A body recovered along the Trinity River Trail Wednesday was confirmed Thursday as missing SMU Police Officer Mark McCullers, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner.
McCullers' body was found among a mass of tree limbs, trash and other debris that appears to have collected in storm drains before washing ashore along the levee trail near the intersection of Oak Lawn Avenue and E. Levee Street.
While not positively identified Wednesday, officials at the scene believed it was highly likely the remains found was McCullers and saluted his body as it was draped with an American flag and placed in the back of a medical examiner's van.
The identification was confirmed Thursday morning, seven weeks after he disappeared and was presumed to have drowned in Turtle Creek.
McCullers was working an off-duty security job July 5 when he notified Highland Park police at about 1:39 a.m. that fast-rising floodwaters were over the hood of his car. Surveillance video in the area recorded McCullers' vehicle on the Fitzhugh Avenue bridge being swept into the creek. While the footage is grainy, it appears McCullers opened the door and exited the vehicle before the car was swept downstream.
When McCullers was unable to be located in the days that followed, it was presumed he drowned in the creek.
SMU President R. Gerald Turner and Chief of Police Richard Shafer issued statements Thursday afternoon thanking those who searched for McCullers and supported his family as the campus community grieves the profound loss.
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The search teams’ efforts now have brought comfort and relief to his many loved ones and friends," Turner said. "We continue to hold in our thoughts and prayers Officer McCullers’ wife, Tiffany, and six children."
A memorial service for McCullers was held July 28 at SMU's McFarlin Auditorium. The McCullers family has established the Officer Mark McCullers Memorial Account. Donations may be made at any Wells Fargo bank to account number 9976436577, or online on PayPal.
